


The Danger in Fandom

by yourlibrarian



Series: Reviews [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Episode: s02e18 Hollywood Babylon, Episode: s05e05 Fallen Idols, Fandom, Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 12:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6803077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlibrarian/pseuds/yourlibrarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story about teens breaking into celebrity homes, including that of Paris Hilton, made me think that it was a pity that the SPN episode involving her was such a badly written one -- because one of the things SPN does well is to take an inverted view on stories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Danger in Fandom

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted October 28, 2009

[This story about teens ](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-celebrity-burglaries27-2009oct27,0,3132220,print.story) breaking into celebrity homes, including that of Paris Hilton, made me think that it was a pity that the SPN episode involving her was such a badly written one. One of the things SPN does well is to take an inverted view on stories. For example, Groundhog Day was an uplifting story about a man learning to live life. Mystery Spot was a dark tale of a man who relentlessly refused to change. SPN Christmas suggested a dark underbelly in the cheeriest time of the year (and I suspect would have gone much farther had it not been on network TV). 

The common picture that Hollywood paints of fans is either as silly people or, in darker stories, as unhinged and dangerous people who are a threat to the people they fan. This isn't surprising since from the writer/celebrity POV this is undoubtedly what the majority of fans look like to them. (An interesting party game might be to try and think of any films or TV shows that actually had fans appear to be normal people or, quelle surprise! actually superior to the celebrity). However, what was a fantastic idea in Fallen Idols is the suggestion that it is _celebrities_ who are dangerous to their _fans_. While I think there have been any number of stories that have been written where celebrities are vapid, stupid, reckless, and threats to the people around them, almost by definition, few fans are in any way closely connected to their celebrit(ies) of choice. 

Thus under normal circumstances hardly any fan would be in a position to be physically threatened by their celebrity, and I quite love this thought as a concept for a horror episode. Just as in the constant Lifetime trope of the killer husband, there's something so subversively "be careful what you wish for" about it, where the search for happiness is seen as the source of evil and unhappiness. In Fallen Idols, clearly Cal and the professor gained a great deal of happiness (and in the professor's case, professional fulfillment) from their lifelong affinity with their idols. And what I liked about the Cal segment is that it acknowledged that this type of pursuit gains a great deal of meaning from sharing it with others (to me, at least, a solitary fan is a sad picture). 

Conversely the point of the episode in Leshi's portrayal is that compared to the harmless pleasure of Cal and the prof, or even the girls, the resulting effect on the recipient of that adoration is dark and unhealthy. It creates monsters. What's more, in Leshi's speech there's a suggestion that it is _because_ the worship is foisted on someone unworthy that this horror occurs. Within the episode we see a juxtaposition of people that many would consider worthy of hero worship (Lincoln, Gandhi) with those who are not (Dean, Hilton). Yet while Leshi suggests that fannish standards are definitely in decline, the results are the same -– worship is worship. It seems to me that overall it's suggested that no one, from Gandhi to Hilton, actually merits the respect and devotion we afford to them. 

This is, interestingly, not the first time that the show has presented this POV. Although in this episode Dean would seem to be with Leshi on the whole hero worship angle, mocking both Lincoln and Gandhi (his reverence for a fine piece of machinery would seem to have nothing to do with James Dean himself), but in Hollywood Babylon we see him being the fanboy. While his approach to Tara is not significantly different of his approach to any woman (which speaks volumes in itself), his enthusiasm for Gerard St. James is portrayed as somewhat blind and silly since from Sam's (and the audience's) perspectives there's not a whole lot there to be enthused about.

The same thing can be seen again when Sam's meeting with the angels leaves him openly disappointed (and at the end of the episode, openly threatened). Dean compares Sam's situation to that of a baseball fan, specifically one who might have been disappointed in Babe Ruth, but should still enjoy the game. What's so intriguing about that statement is that Dean does not suggest that it's the fannishness that is wrong, but in unjustifiably putting those emotions on fallible individuals instead of the overall project that they work on. 

In some ways then, the SPN perspective of fannish behavior is not much different from the way that they have been portrayed as a whole in other creative productions. Fans still appear as silly, and hero worship of individuals is still portrayed as anything from foolish to disturbing. But there's an added layer there of suggesting that hero worship is a destructive force to the recipient as well, and that the destruction can boomerang onto the giver (in essence, celebrities are like Tulpas). Within the episode of Fallen Idols, one takeaway is that this is what has happened to the various Winchesters as well. Dean wanted to be like John. Sam wanted to be like Dean. But these wishes proved to be destructive and misplaced, causing far more harm than good to what they had between them, which was, at least, their own.


End file.
